The shrine stela of Ineny

From Thebes, EgyptLate
18th Dynasty, around 1350 BC

Porter of Amun

This shrine is presumably from Ineny's
tomb. It combines elements of the
pyramidion,
which during the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC) was placed on top
of the tomb chapel of private tombs, with those of a shrine.
Pyramidions often contained niches in which were placed statues of
the tomb owner holding a
stela.
This feature has been enlarged and placed in the shrine, where a
figure of a god, such as Amun, might be
expected.

Here the figure
of the tomb owner has been reduced to just his head and hands,
protruding above the stela on each face of the shrine. The
hieroglyphic
inscriptions around each niche records the traditional offering
formula, naming a different god on each side. The hieroglyphs
become closer together towards the end of each line, as if the
craftsman had misjudged the space available. The text on each stela
gives a summary of Ineny's hymn to
Re.

'Praising
Re when he rises, until it happens that he sets on life, by the
Porter of [Amun] Ineny. He says: "Hail to you: how beautiful is
your rising!"'

The
name of Amun has been deliberately erased in the offering
inscription on one side. This damage must have occurred during the
Amarna Period.